𝕾carlette groaned, hugging her coat tighter to her body, her teeth chattering from the freezing breeze as the wind blew the snow and frost around the paths of the small village. She flickers her eyes to the veela walking beside her with a soft smile on her lips, her cheeks and the button of her nose an adorable rosy pink colour from the cool air, white fluffy earmuffs placed over her blonde curled hair like a headband, intricate snowflakes settling onto her clothes and hair as though it was another accessory. How she looked so beautifully angelic whilst she looked like a coat rack was beyond her. She loves winter, she hates the cold it brings, she always feels cold which is why she's wearing multiple layers.
"Merlin Wills, could you look the least bit cold for just a moment so I don't look like a fool?" Scarlette mumbled, although it was more stuttered as her teeth were clinking together uncontrollably.
"Oh right, sorry" I nodded, wiping the smile off my face and narrowing my eyes as though I hated the weather, glancing to her out of the corner of my eye, asking, "Better? I can't chatter my teeth so this will have to do"
"Fantastic" The Slytherin retorted sarcastically, earning a wide smile from the Hufflepuff, rolling her eyes and deciding to leave her to her own, deciding she was insane for not looking windswept like she did.
"Oi! Willoette!" We heard a familiar boyish voice call, causing the both of us to peer over our shoulders to see the four Marauders dressed up warmly in their winter clothes, all displaying smiles on their faces, Peter sending us an eager wave, catching up to us with a small jog, James nearly face planting the snow, causing me to chuckle lightly at him.
"Blimey Lestrange, what happened to you?" Sirius teased with a cheeky grin, all of them now standing in front of us, looking to Scarlette underneath all of her layers, "You are in there, aren't you?"
"I have thin patience today, Black, don't try me" She barked back to the boy, glancing to me with a pointed look, my eyebrows furrowing for a few moments, "Wills"
"Oh yeah, right, I forgot" I nodded, composing myself with a deep breath and pursing my lips, hugging myself and narrowing my eyes once again, pretending to shiver,
"Er- what's going on?" James asked perplexed, looking over my appearance like the other boys, before Sirius clapped his hands together, letting out a howl of laughter, catching on to what's going on,
"I have to pretend to be grumpy and dishevelled to make Scar feel better about herself" I informed him nonchalantly, softening for a moment before returning to my acted expression, Remus chuckling amusedly at my comment when Scarlette groaned, swatting my arm, and stamping her boot on the floor,
"Willow........ You know what forget it, be an angel all the fucking time!" She waved me off, a smile breaking out of my face, relaxing again and spreading my arms out, spinning in circles and catching snowflakes on my tongue, simply enjoying the weather like the teenager I am.
Remus smiled to himself observing the veela in her element, spinning around with her arms out, small brown mittens on her hands for warmth, pairing nicely with her cream coat and dark blue jeans. Scarlette was right, she was an angel, just like she was on Halloween, though this time she didn't have the wings and halo, she didn't need them. It was purely her. His heart beat quickened when she sighed softly, her cheeks and nose tinted pink, cute earmuffs keeping her ears toasty warm. He felt warm himself just at the sight.
He was only drawn from her when he heard a thud and flurries of snow hitting his legs, his eyes training down to the floor where James was laid, facing upwards, Sirius on top of him, moving his arms and legs with James' to make a snow angel, a mischievous grin on his face. He looked upwards to Peter, who watched dazedly, sniggering to himself,
"They tripped over each other's feet again, didn't they?" The werewolf sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, a light laugh escaping my lips at the scene, Scarlette not even reacting being too busy snuggling into my side for warmth,
"Padfoot, get your fat arse off me, it's freezing!" James cried out, wriggling underneath Sirius who simply ignored him, carrying on moving their arms and legs to make snow angels, students looking around with a strange expression, nodding however when they realised it was James and Sirius. It made sense.
"My arse isn't fat, it's perfectly sized and you know it" Sirius replied matter of factly, grunting when Remus yanked him off James, allowing the bespectacled boy to stand up, covered in snow, causing him to shiver furiously, also now hugging himself,
"Do you all compare your dicks as well as your arses?" Scarlette quipped, folding her arms over her chest, my lips tugging upwards, revelling in the blush on all of their cheeks from the comment, though James and Sirius brushed it off quickly with confidence, puffing their chests out proudly,
"Yes"
"What?! No we don't!" Peter and Remus cried out with comically wide eyes, Scarlette and I bursting into laughter from the comment, heating up immediately,
"I don't know what your complaining about Moony, you're the bi-"
"Shut up!" Remus growled dangerously low, easily pushing James back to the floor and storming towards the Three Broomsticks, Scarlette and I trailing after him whilst Peter and Sirius laughed at James spitting snow out of his mouth, saying something about taking some and flavouring it so it would taste good.
"Oh no" I mumbled after entering the pub, Lily and Amos quite evidently on their date on a booth in the middle of the room, visible from every angle, my eyes flickering over my shoulder to James heading this way, Scarlette, Remus and I exchanging a worried glance.
"Why've you all stop- oh" James spoke up with a grin that slowly faded at the sight, sympathy filling my chest for the boy who swallowed thickly, shrugging it off, "It's alright, let's go in, i'm fucking freezing"
"Yes, Jamesie-deer, you owe me a butterbeer" I recalled, wrapping my arm around his waist in comfort, leaning into his side as we ventured further into the pub, picking out a booth in the corner that would fit all of us.
"That I do, Willow-tree. I'll go and get them" He nodded, leaving us all, Peter deciding to go and help him and keep him company whilst they waited, leaving Remus, Sirius, Scarlette and I.
"Does one of you happen to have a hair tie by any chance?" Sirius inquired with a curious look as I took my coat off, pushing the sleeves of my sweater upwards and finding a blonde hair tie, taking it off and handing it to him, "Thanks, love"
"Mmhm" I nodded, leaning back in my chair and watching him effortlessly scrape his raven locks backwards, securing a small bun on the back of his head, a few curly strands loosely falling down and framing his face perfectly. Sirius Black was the definition of good hair, and he knew it.
"Where are the girls?" Remus questioned, scanning over the pub, obviously knowing that Lily was with Amos but the other Gryffindors weren't in sight,
"Alice is with Frank Longbottom somewhere, Marlene despises the snow so Mary stayed behind to keep her company. I think they wanted to raid the kitchens, they asked me where it was so I'm guessing that's what they wanted to do" I answered, looking to the mousy haired boy, his face incredibly soft looking, the orange glow from the crackling fire nearby reflecting off his face making him look warmer, along with his accustomed knitted sweater.
"Here we are..." James announced, stepping to the table with three butterbeers in his hands, Peter holding another three, placing them down in front of each of us, Peter sliding next to Sirius beside Scarlette whilst James slid in next to me so I was inbetween him and Remus. I reached and pecked his cheek in thanks, handing him the money for it, "You do realise the point of me getting you a butterbeer is paying for it, right?"
"Yes, but I want to pay" I insisted with a smile, his eyebrow raising, shaking his head whilst I nodded mine, neither of us stopping waiting for the other to give in, much to the amusement of everyone else, "James......"
"Willow........" He mocked my tone, shoving my money back into my pocket, my face scrunching up, grumbling incoherent words at the bespectacled boy. The rest of them placed their galleons on the table, sliding them towards the boy, a debating look on his face,
"If you take their money and not mine I will charm you" I warned, the boy merely grinning at me boyishly, nudging me with his elbow,
"I'm not taking their money either, Willow-tree, it's an early Christmas treat" He decided, all of them putting their galleons away with a shrug, Sirius and Scarlette's faces becoming sour at the mention of the holiday approaching, the other four of us pursing our lips, "Right....sorry. You know you can always come, mum would love to have you"
"I can't" Sirius mumbled, a grim feeling washing over him at the thought of going 'home' for three weeks with the Blacks. He desperately wished he didn't have to go, that he could go to James' house and be with the Potters who are more than a family to him as his own are, but he can't. His mother requested for him to go home and it will just make things worse if he didn't go.
Scarlette had it bad, but nowhere near as bad as Sirius did. Sirius was a disappointment, a blood traitor for getting into Gryffindor unlike the rest of his ancestors, with no one shielding him from the harshness of pureblood society. His mother despised him and his father hasn't spoke a proper word to him in five years unless it was an insult or an order, or simply relishing in hurting him. Scarlette was a Slytherin, she could flip a switch into her self preservation the moment she got home and turn into the proper pureblood coming of age girl her parents wanted her to be. Her brothers may be insane, but they do still have the slightest bit of care for their little sister, Rabastan more than Rodolphus, and her mother cares for her deep down, shielding her from the darkness spreading so far.
"Let's just talk about something else" Scarlette suggested, taking a side glance to the Gryffindor beside her, nudging him slightly in reassurance, my teeth clamping down on my lip, thinking for a few moments before speaking up,
"We should go and see the huge Christmas tree before we go back to the castle, it's right in the middle of the village"
"Yes, definitely" Peter nodded his head in agreement a few times, sipping his butterbeer, "We should definitely do that"
I flickered my eyes over when I heard a familiar laugh, seeing Lily and Amos really enjoying their date, warm smiles on their faces and their cheeks pink, James sighing softly when he looked over, looking back to the booth, staring down at his butterbeer,
"Well this is a lovely trip" Remus piped up sarcastically in the silence, Scarlette and Sirius stuck in a world thinking about going back home, James thinking about Lily's date, whilst Peter just sat there awkwardly, munching on some sweets they must have gotten from Honeydukes before they caught up with us,
"It's not that bad, Remus, i'm here remember" I claimed with a beam, cupping my hands under my cheeks and posing for him, the mousy haired boy chuckling amusedly, rolling his eyes playfully at me,
"How could I forget?......That makes it even worse" He teased with a grin, a gasp falling from my lips dramatically, placing my hand over my heart and snuggling up to James,
"Did you hear that, Jamesie-deer, he's so mean to me" I pouted, the bespectacled boy scoffing at Remus and wrapping his arms around me tightly, resting his chin on my head and glaring at Remus,
"How dare you, Moony, take it back right now" He ordered, the werewolf raising his eyebrow, looking down to his butterbeer and back up to me, gesturing for me to lean in close, his breath fanning in my ear, waiting for a few moments before whispering,
"No"
"And to think you were my favourite, well now you've been demoted. Peter you're on top now" I told them, Sirius and James scoffing whilst Peter cheered, pumping his fist in the air before reaching and giving me a high five in gratitude,
"Why Wormy, why not us?! We're the best, everyone loves us!" James and Sirius cried out dramatically together, Scarlette and I exchanging a glance, pursing our lips,
"No, they don't" Scarlette snorted, shaking her head, the two boys gaping at her as though she had grown three heads, whilst I winked at Peter, making him blush, "Yeah, you two have fanclubs and all, but everyone talks about the real Gryffindor casanova....and he isn't either of you"
"Who?" They all mumbled, a light laugh leaving my lips when the brunette pressed her finger to her lips, waving them off, James slamming his hand on the table, shaking his head, "You can't leave us hanging after saying that! Who's the Gryffindor casanova that everyone is in love with?"
"You really want to know?" I asked innocently, drawing it out as long as possible, Scarlette and I having the exact same thing in mind, all of them leaning forward on their seats waiting for the name, "Or did they change it, Scar?"
"No, no, it's always been him. Everyone talks about how handsome he is"
"Yeah, you're right, i've even heard some of the boys talking about their fantasies with him too" I nodded, having a casual conversation with the girl whilst the four Gryffindors are on the verge of snapping, "He is quite fit in my opinion"
"Agreed"
"Dammit girls! Fucking tell us!" Sirius finally snapped, his eyes wide, another strand falling from his hair and into his eyes though he made no effort to brush it back, just leaving it there whilst Scarlette and I cackled at each other, shrugging our shoulders before nodding our heads to the werewolf himself,
"It's Remus, of course"
"What?!" They all exclaimed rather loudly, drawing attention from the booths around, Sirius waving them all off, Remus' cheeks reddening, shaking his head a few times, whilst James and Sirius argued it should be them,
"No, no, no, no, you're wrong" He whispered, my eyebrows raising, giving him an incredulous look he shrugged off, "Nobody likes me, look at me— i'm-"
"So dreamy" We breathed out with matching sighs, leaning our chins on our hands an batting our eyelashes at the flustered boy, not taking our eyes off him, enjoying the way it was riling the other three up, mainly James and Sirius,
"But I'm gorgeous, i'm the casanova of the Gryffindor tower, the ladies man, the Romeo!" Sirius declared strongly, Remus rolling his eyes at the boy, retorting smartly, knowing he hadn't read the book,
"Who told you about Romeo? They were very wrong"
"All the girls call me their Romeo, Moony, and evidently none of them call you it so i'm the Casanova-"
"Oh Romeo, my bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite" I spoke theatrically to Remus, recalling the words from the play, a smirk tugging on his lips, raising his eyebrow at me for knowing the quote off by heart,
"Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night" He spoke back dramatically, running a hand through his fluffy hair before placing it on his heart as though he was speaking straight from it to the girl, his lips tugging upwards at the angelic laugh slipping from her lips, ringing in his ears like a chiming bell signalling for him that it was a sense of home.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Scarlette clapped, grinning at the two of us, stealing some jellybeans from Peter's box and throwing them at us as though they were flowers, clasping her hands together and swaying in her chair as we half bowed,
"What the fuck was that?" James breathed out, shaking his head at the three of us confusedly, my lips twitching, tearing my gaze from Remus to him on the other side,
"You can borrow my copy, Jamesie-deer, I think you'll enjoy it" I offered, reaching and ruffling his messy locks, a crooked grin on his face, wiggling his nose to push his glasses up further,
"No, no, Lolo, don't you dare take him to the dark side...Prongs, don't join them, they'll take you forever and soon they'll be nothing, you'll be one of them!" Sirius weeped dramatically, pretending to grip at his sweatshirt, Remus and I exchanging a glance, tilting our heads to the side, speaking in unison,
"A bookworm?"
"Yes! Yes! Do not make him a bookworm or I will kill myself and haunt you for the rest of your lives, making them absolutely miserable for you" He warned with narrowed eyes, Remus shrugging his shoulders saying simply,
"How much more miserable can my life get?"
"Don't say that. Never say that again" I muttered with a frown, the boy turning to me in surprise, leaning his head on his hand, facing me whilst James and Sirius got caught up in a conversation, with Scarlette and Peter both eating some jelly beans, pointing our random people in the pub, assigning them a flavour and guessing their names as a fun little game.
"I'm me, Willow, my life is miserable. I'm a werewolf" He mumbled almost silently, knowing deep down that this was the truth, the the way she looked at him when he said it made him feel more pain than the one thinking about his condition. She looked hurt almost, her lips pursing together, her coloured eyes examining every detail of his face, lacking the brightness they usually have.
"You're not defined by your condition. You're not miserable when you're reading in your own little world, or pulling stupid pranks with these three, or when James cracks an awful joke and you pretend you don't find it funny but your lips twitch before you say something sarcastic back. You're not miserable when you're nibbling your favourite chocolate or just being you. You have as much happiness as sadness so don't fucking dare say your life is miserable because i've seen you happy many of times, more than you've been sad. You're Remus, Remus is good" I told him quietly with a stern yet soft expression, observing the way his lips part and shallow breaths leave his mouth, listening to what I had to say.
He couldn't form words as much as he tried to, nothing was piecing together in his mind except her name and he doubted that would get him very far. So he simply just stared at her, feeling his heart beat quicken again when he replayed the words she had said about him in his head over and over, the way his name fell from her lips and she talked about little things she had observed that he hadn't even realised he did. He closes his eyes briefly, gulping before finally speaking shakily,
"Thank you"
"You're welcome. The next time you're doubting yourself you remember that or i'll drill it in your head until you do" I murmured, leaning and pecking his cheek sweetly, a smile gracing my lips when his cheeks warmed, sending me a sheepish grin, "Remember, us half breeds have to have each other's backs"
"We do. I have your back"
"As do I"
•3362 words•
Adorable. Just adorable ꨄ♡︎